January 2016

Liquor Board Town Hall Meeting Announced

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

A town hall meeting with the Baltimore City Liquor Board will be held on February 17. These meetings are an opportunity for citizens to discuss their concerns with the Liquor Board. Topics of discussion will include recent revisions and issuance of new Rules and Regulations for the agency, new administrative board policies and a questions and comment segment.

Come out to ask questions, meet staff and Commissioners.

For more information on the event, contact Thomas Akras, at Thomas.Akras@baltimorecity.gov

Baltimore Archaeology Celebrated Internationally

On January 8, 2016, Lauren Schiszik, Planner for the Historical and Architectural division, presented a paper at the International Society for Historical Archaeology's Annual Conference in Washington DC.

The paper discussed the history of city government-sponsored archaeology, with a focus on Baltimore.

The return of a significant archaeological collection to City-care is an example of Baltimore's renewed
commitment to archaeological resources. The acquired Mount Clare collection contains
artifacts from Carroll Park. The collection includes very rare physical evidence of
religious practices of enslaved African Americans.

This collection is now
accessible to the public by appointment at the Baltimore City Archives. In addition, the Department of
Planning, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and the Baltimore National
Heritage Area, is developing an exhibit for this collection in 2016. The
Department is excited to be a partner in this project.

A Message from the Director

Greetings!

Last year, the Planning Department was hard at work, dedicating staff time and energy working in – and on behalf of - our City’s diverse and thriving neighborhoods.

We focused a tremendous amount of effort towards
solving some of our toughest urban challenges, and we also leveraged our
collective staff expertise to reflect and build upon our strengths.

I am pleased to share an important product of that collective
reflection process, one that also looks ahead to fulfilling the vast potential
of this city, across all neighborhoods-- the Planning Department’s new mission
statement:

“To build Baltimore as a diverse, sustainable and thriving city
of neighborhoods and as the economic and cultural driver for the region.”

The mission statement captures our emphasis on promoting
diversity - socially, economically and in the built environment – citywide. It
also speaks to the imperative that as we grow as a city and as the cultural and
economic engine for the region, we do so in a sustainable way that spreads real
benefits to all of our communities and residents. We’ve developed a new
brochure that describes how we strive to achieve our mission through the work
of each of our six divisions and the three mayoral-appointed commissions we are
privileged to staff.

Looking ahead, please stay tuned for our February Compass, which
will feature our 2015 Annual Report. As we reflect on the past year’s projects,
we are eager to share key milestones and accomplishments, including shepherding
approvals for millions of square feet of new commercial and residential
development, and spurring $52 million dollars of private investment in 35
neighborhoods through the historic tax credit.

We look forward to an even more successful 2016 for the Planning
Department and the City of Baltimore, and wish you and yours the very best.

A Master Plan for Port Covington

At the January 7, 2016 meeting of the Urban Design & Architecture Review Panel, a representative from Sagamore Development presented the Master Plan for Port Covington. The site is located in South Baltimore, adjacent to South Locust Point and Riverside. It is bounded by I-95 to the north and the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River.

The total master plan area is nearly 250 acres, with 114 acres of public realm space, including 40 acres of public park space. Seventy-six acres will be dedicated to new mixed use development. Proposed uses include residential, retail, office and maker spaces. An additional 50 acres will be developed as Under Armour's new world headquarters, with up to 10,000 employees on site at full build-out. Key principles of the master plan include:

Creating a sense of arrival to a destination

Making strong connections between uses, ecology and people

Inducing multi-modal behavior through design

Just yesterday, Under Armour presented its master plan vision for the Port Covington HQ Campus. Details are available here.